To the great displeasure of the United States, Palestine will soon take the lead in the UN coalition promoting the economic and political interests of developing countries, the G77.

A resolution was adopted on October 16 by 146 countries at the UN granting Palestine legal permission to take the chair.

The UN General Assembly awarded the Palestinians, who only hold observer status, additional legal powers in order to assume the presidency of the Group of 77 in 2019.

Three countries voted against the resolution; the United States, Israel and Australia, fifteen countries abstained.

Beyond its legal issue of status, this text is accompanied by a great symbolism for Palestine.

On September 27, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, 'the Group of 77 and China’ - which actually comprises 134 countries in all - voted for Palestine to take the 2019 chair.

Palestine’s observer status at the United Nations, and not a permanent member, did not, however, give the nation the legal attributes to exercise the presidency.

Palestine needed a resolution needed to pass in order to exercise this role.

The text of the resolution recalls that "the State of Palestine" is already "party to many instruments concluded under the auspices of the United Nations and is a full member of several specialized agencies and bodies of the United Nations. 'United Nations'.”

Chairmanship of the G77 "will allow Palestinians to gain international recognition, will show that they are an international player capable of talking about anything other than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," according to a diplomat who requested anonymity.

"It is utterly inappropriate for an observer member to represent states at the UN," US Deputy Ambassador Jonathan Cohen told the General Assembly.

Unlike the Security Council, Washington does not have a veto power in the General Assembly to prevent the adoption of a resolution.

The G77 was originally created to promote the economic interests of its members - the largest coalition of developing states - and today is a significant negotiating force within the Organization, particularly on budgetary issues.